Blackwood



R. BLAOKWOOD. DIE FOR FORMING SPIKE HEADS.

N 1,920. Patented Feb. 12, 1867.

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REUEL BLACKWOOD, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Iatent ZVhOLOQO, dated February 12, 1861'.

IMPROVEMENT IN DIES FOR FORMING SPIKE-HEADS.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, RnunnBnncuwoon, of the city of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Dic for Forming the Sour-Head of a Ship's Spike; and I do hereby declare th t.

the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings making a part of this spceificntionfin which- Figure 1 represents the two parts of the die, as closed upon a spike-head thereimthc head and the die being shown in section.

, Figure 2, the some parts in their relative positions just before the die is closed to form the head on the spike. I

Figure 3, the male portion of the die, with the clamp to which it is fixed, as when parted to release the spurheaded spike therefrom.

Figure 4, an end view of the male portion of the die and the clamp, as closed; and

Figure 5, an e nd view of the female portion of the die and its holder- Like letters ofreferencc indicating the same parts when in the different figures. I i The spikes now generally required in planking ships are made each with a square head, having a downward projecting spur at each of the four corners of its under side, and the corresponding corners of its upper side.

bevelled off. They are greatly in demand by ship-builders, being much superior to the plain-headed spikes previously used for the purpose, but, being made by hand, they are more costly, and cannot beeasily s'uppli'ed' in sufiicient quantities to meet the demand, and besides, they are not generally well made at their spurs. V The object of my inventionis to afford a die suitable for producing spur-headed ships spikes b' y'machinery and therefore in a more rapid manner and with perfectly constructed spur-heads. It consists, substantially as hereinafter described, in making the female portion of the die to have each of its four inside bottom corners fill ed out solidly sons to produce an inclined surface thereat, which, with the inside bottom and sides of the cavity, will be substantially a'counterpartof the upper surface of a well-made sciuztrespike-head, having its four upward salient corners bevelled oil as required, and in making the male portion of the die in two longitudinally curved parts, so as to form, when properly adjusted together, a hollow stem which will fitovcrthc iron bar of which the spike is to be formed, and'having the exterior of the said'projccting part made to fit accurat-ely' within the female part of the die, and having, also, the four salient corners of its entering end bevelled off in such a manner that the under side of a well-made spur-head of a ships spike will represent, substantially,

a counterpart thereof, the said .die being applied to any suitable actuating niachinery whereby the die will be i so operated as to form the required bevelled spur-heads on the iron bar used for the spikes.

In the drawings, A is the female portion of the die, and B B the male portion of thesamc. The female portion A has the transverse area of its square cavity in which the head of the spike is formed made to correspond with the area of the head required on the spike, and its depth about twice vthe depth or thickness of the said intended head. Its bottom is made fiat in its middle portion a, and sloped upward at each of its four corners a. a a a, as represented in the drawings. It'is intended to bc fixed firmly in any suitable manner in a machine ram-head, G, which has given to it, in any suitable manner, longitudinal motions backward and forward alternately, as indicated by the arrows thereon, by means of a cam or other device whereby a sufficiently strong pressure may be given to it to form the head of a spike, as willllcreinafter be explained. The rnale portion B of thc dic consists of two like opposite parts, which, when adjusted together, present a pro jecting end, thcex tcrior of which exactly fits in the square cavity of the part A, and has its four salient corners b b b b bevelled off, as shown in figs. 1, 2, 3, '4, and has also a square hole, 6 fig. 4, longitudinally through its centre, adapted in its transverse area to the transverse area of the iron bar of which the intended spike is to be formed. The two parts B B of the die are each fixed firmly on the respective ends of two clamps, D D,

each of which has a groove made along in its inner side, so that when the two said grooved sides are accurately adjusted together, with the two parts B B of the die fixed in line on their respective forward ends, as shown in figs. 1 and 2, a. square hole will be formed along in between them which will be opemateach end. This hole is for receiving and clamping tightly the bar of iron which is to be headed for a. spike. The said bar is represented at V, and also by the dotted lines in fig. 2. The clamps D D, with the parts B B of the die attached thereto, are intended to be secured firmly in the machine which is to operate the part A of the di as described, and are to be operated by a cam or otherwise, in such a. niani'ier -that lateral sliding motionswill be"given to one or both halves of the same files to cause them to open orseparate sufficiently to receive the bar V and then close upon it and hold or clu. p it firmly whilst the head is being formed on the bar vyas will now be explained or described.

Operation: The two partsA and B B of the die being secured in any suitable actuating machine, and operated regularly thereby in such a manner that the part B B, with the clamps D D, will be opened and closed alternately, as described, and the part A caused to advance and receive within its cavity the projecting parts of B B when the latter are eloscdtogether, and then to recedebefore the said parts BB begin to be opened or separated, thcheading of the spikes may he proceeded with, and is effected as follows: the iron spike bar V is brought to a strong red heat and then immediately placed so as to be caught between the clamps D D and the parts B B of the die, and with enough of the said bar V projecting beyond the parts B B of the die to form the head Vof thespikc; and when so clamped tightly, the part A. of the die advances over the projecting end 0? the balrjV and that of the parts B-B'of the die, and thus compresses the former within the die and producing the spurred end bevelled head. V, as shown in fig. 1, Immediately afterward the part A of the die recedes and then the parts B-D BD become separated, as shown in fig. 3, and allow the now spur-headed bar to be either withdrawn by hand or cut off, sharpened, and dropped, which latter may be easily provided for by constructing the actuating machine accordingly. It will be readily seen that the spur-heads of ships spikes can be formed in this die in the most perfect and rapid nanner. I

Having thus fully-described the construction and mode of operation of my die for forming spur-headed ships spikes, and pointed out a. suitable mode of working the same by machinery, I wish it to be understood that I donot intend to confine myself to the use of any particular machinery for actuating or operating the said die; but having described the general operating features required in the machine to move the two parts of the die as described, what I claim as new thereinof my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is confincdto the following, viz l I claim a die consisting of theparts A'and B-D B--D, constructedsubstantially as described, and operated by any suitable machinery, substantially as audfor the purpose set forth and described:

REUEL BLACKWOOD.

Witnesses:

Bmw. Monrson, B. F. SHATTUGK. 

